An “armed and dangerous” murder suspect remains at large Monday after leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase across multiple counties over the weekend, authorities said.
Several state and local police agencies are searching for 18-year-old Vincent Steele, who is wanted in connection with the Sept. 15 shooting death of Zechariah Rainwater, Atlanta police spokesman Officer Anthony Grant confirmed. The 27-year-old was found shot several times inside a blue Ford Fiesta in the 1000 block of Ira Street, located near Pittman Park in the Pittsburgh neighborhood, according to an incident report.
Steele was later arrested in early November after being accused of recklessly driving a stolen 2016 Chevrolet Silverado through the city while evading police, according to his arrest warrant. After being apprehended in a CSX parking lot, he was questioned by the Atlanta police homicide unit and later booked into the Fulton County Jail on charges of theft and willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer, the warrant and online records show.
When asked about an active murder warrant for Steele, Fulton court officials said they were only able to provide “warrants tied to an arrest.”
At about 10 p.m. Friday, a Georgia State Patrol trooper attempted to perform a traffic stop on a gray 2024 Nissan Altima that had been speeding northbound on I-75 at mile marker 228, according to the agency. The driver pulled over to the shoulder but accelerated as a trooper approached the trunk, the GSP said.
During the chase, the driver turned off his lights and the trooper lost contact after the Nissan got off the interstate at mile marker 231. Three hours later, at about 1:30 a.m., a Flock camera picked up the Nissan in Clayton County. The Clayton County Sheriff’s Office said it spotted the vehicle along Ga. 54 in front of Mundy’s Mill High School near Jonesboro, where deputies tried to pull Steele over.
“Steele again sped away, reaching speeds over 100 mph as he fled Clayton County and entered Fayette County,” sheriff’s office spokesman Jamal Webb said.
The chase eventually reached the intersection of Banks Road and Fayetteville Road, where deputies said Steele T-boned another driver and ran away. Deputies provided aid to the other driver, but their condition was not released.
Steele had been driving a vehicle registered to a family member, Webb said. A GSP spokesperson said Steele was identified by a driver’s license in the vehicle. Officials said he was also “found to have an active homicide warrant” from Atlanta police, whose Aviation Unit responded to the crash site and picked up two heat signatures nearby.
Troopers and a police K-9 searched the nearby woods and found a man lying face down. After refusing to comply, the man was held by the K-9 and apprehended, officials said. Troopers then noticed a second person who tried running away, according to the GSP.
They were both arrested and booked into the Fayette County Jail but were “determined to be unrelated to the pursuit and crash,” the GSP said. Their names were not released.
Anyone with more information on Steele’s whereabouts is asked to call 911, authorities said. Webb said those caught aiding or harboring Steele “will be held accountable.”
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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